Bryce Harper and the participation trophy myth

Washington Nationals outfielder Harper criticized participation trophies during a meeting with Little Leaguers on Saturday.

Prior to the Washington Nationals‘ 3-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday, a group of Nationals players met with some Little Leaguers from the Washington, D.C. area. Among the Nationals players was Bryce Harper, one of the best young talents in baseball. In fact, as we near the end of May, only Mike Trout has been definitively better than Bryce Harper this year. Harper’s team is also doing well, currently with the second-best record in the National League.

During a question-and-answer session, Harper shared his feelings on participation trophies with the Little Leaguers. In response to a question not audible in the video tweet below, Harper responds, “As much as they might tell you, ‘Oh, it’s okay you guys lost,’ but no, Johnny, no. No participation trophies, okay. First place only.”

One of the constants through the years is that the older generation likes to criticize the younger generation. It’s been happening for thousands of years. In Book III of Odes, circa 20 B.C., Horace wrote: “Our sires’ age was worse than our grandsires’. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.” Considering that was said more than 2,000 years ago, it’s a wonder the human race has survived this long.

In the baseball world, former player Goose Gossage criticized Jose Bautista for his bat flip because it’s “disrespecting the game.” Gossage has also gone after Bryce Harper, saying, “This kid doesn’t know squat about the game, and no respect for it . . . So let me tell Bryce Harper something: go look at the history, figure it out and quit acting like a fool.”

In the case of Bryce Harper and the participation trophy, his criticism is a common one these days. It’s an attack on the millennials and whatever the next generation will be named. It’s usually Generation X or the Baby Boomers who are down on millennials.

These older generations believe the “kids these days” are entitled brats who don’t have the work ethic or initiative they had. Exhibit A is the participation trophy, which seems to be the root of all the problems. The theory is that millennials received participation trophies when they were young and it created a lazy, entitled generation. Ironically, Harper is part of the millennial generation that has been criticized for growing up receiving participation trophies. It obviously hasn’t diminished the competitiveness of Harper.

But take a step back and think about the participation trophy. Who started giving them out? Not the millennials. They didn’t run out and buy their own trophies. Their parents and coaches gave them participation trophies. And now the same generation of parents and coaches who handed them out are the ones doing the criticizing.

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I think this comes from a romanticization of the past. Every generation likes to think their generation was better than the next. It happens in all walks of life. They believe cars used to be better, music used to be better, movies used to be better, food use to be better. It’s not true, of course, but people still like to believe it.

To be fair to Bryce Harper, his criticism of participation trophies isn’t necessarily wrong, it’s just misdirected. Harper should have directed his disapproval of participation trophies at the parents who hand them out, not the kids who get them. It’s actually insulting to young people today to think they don’t know the difference between a first place trophy and a trophy for just showing up. We all knew the difference when we were young and they know the difference now.

Ultimately, though, the participation trophy isn’t the root of all evil. Kids have been getting them for years now and, despite the constant criticism of millennials over the last few years, they aren’t entitled brats with a poor work ethic. Sure, in any large group of people there will be some who are, but it’s not fair to paint an entire generation with that broad a brush.

It’s important to remember that the major problems that exist today can’t be blamed on the most recent generation. Millennials aren’t old enough to have caused the financial crash of 2008 or the growing disappearance of the middle class and the ever widening financial gap between the top 1 percent and the rest of us. It’s not millennials who have been running the country the last 40 years ( Baby Boomers ).

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Millennials didn’t invade Iraq after 9/11 and haven’t been dropping bombs in numerous countries ever since. The Baby Boomers and Generation X should be sympathizing with the millennials. Millennials are the generation experiencing a massive increase in student loan costs, very low interest rates on savings accounts and ever-increasing automation that has eliminated millions of manufacturing jobs. If anything, the previous generations should have spent less time handing out participation trophies and more time trying to make things better for the next generation.